Nightmare
by Yoshermon
Summary: Eddy finds himself trapped within his own subconscious, but he's not alone....
1. Chapter 1

This is a fanfiction about Ed, Edd, n' Eddy (duh) and takes a dark and mysterious take on the otherwise funny and cheerful show. I'm sorry the first chapter is so short; the other ones are much longer however, rest assured!

* * *

_**"Do you know what's wrong with him?"**_

****_****_

"I do not. This is very strange, I've never seen anything like this before."

"Will he ever wake up?"

"Maybe. The diagnostics say that everything's in perfect order yet he won't wake up by any means."

"I guess we'll just have to wait."

"Oh, my head...." Eddy said as he woke up groggily. He had one heck of a night last night, but he couldn't remember what happened. He reached over to shut off his alarm, but it wasn't there.  
"Wait a second, where am I?" He said to himself. He knew his eyes were open yet all he could see was blackness. He held out his hand and was able to see it clearly.

"What is this place? ...Oh, my head hurts. Wait, it really hurts.........guh........AAAHHH!!!!!" Eddy screamed as he realized his head was in tremendous pain. He tried to find some help but he couldn't move; he was in the air, being held up by something. To Eddy's horror, he found that there was a slim, black, spear-like pole holding him up. It was pierced right through his head, and the pain was enormous.

Eddy quickly grabbed the pole and slid himself off of it painfully. He plopped to what was supposedly the ground and felt his head. There was no hole or wound at all.  
"That's weird. Shouldn't I be dead if something goes through my brain?" Eddy started thinking about everything he could remember to make sure his brain was functioning correctly. Well, as correctly as Eddy's brain could function anyway.

When his head finally stopped hurting, he got up and started looking around. There was nothing but blackness, save for a dim red line indicating the horizon around him.  
"This is not good." Eddy said as he picked a random direction and started running.


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry, the chapters look a lot longer in the word proccessor. Anyway, this chapter is longer than the first and the third chapter is much longer than this. Enjoy!

_**

* * *

****"He's been like this for a few hours now. I'm getting worried."**_

_****_

"All we can do is just hope he makes it. This is still very strange; his body is in perfect working order but his mind refuses to wake up. Also, his mental stress has been fluctuating, indicating that his body is in pain."

"I wish there was something--ANYTHING I could do. He is my friend, after all."

"Well, we have been working on something that could allow you to help him. But it's only a prototype and extremely dangerous to the person using it."

"I don't care! As long as it has a chance of waking him up, I'll try anything."

"Ok, if you insist. It'll take a few hours to get set up, however."

Eddy was still wandering around in the darkness. He was growing tired and he felt as if the place's gravity was slowly increasing.  
"How am I supposed to find my way out of here?" He asked himself as he kept walking. There was absolutely nothing around him; no landmarks, people, animals, no anything. Eddy could barely tell if he was even moving anywhere.

After what seemed like an hour or two, Eddy finally collapsed from exhaustion.  
"There's no way out of this place." He said to himself quietly.  
Then suddenly, a light appeared behind him. Eddy got up and turned around to see an archway of light in the near distance. He felt drawn to it, walking forward with absolutely no fear or curiosity of what it was. All Eddy could think about was going into that white, magificent light.

As he drew nearer, Eddy suddenly heard something. Well, more accurately, he felt as if he heard something. It sounded like a faint ringing, accompanied by worried voices. This filled Eddy with fear and regret as he broke away from his trance and stepped away from the light. The ringing stopped and the voices sounded like they were having a sigh of relief before they vanished. Eddy didn't know exactly what happened, but he decided to stay away from the light for a while.

After a while more of walking, Eddy sat down to rest. It was strange; he hadn't eaten in what felt like hours but he wasn't hungry. It was if food was somehow automatically put into his stomach. The light was still there, way in the distance that Eddy had walked. Suddenly, another light appeared. Only this time it was yellow, shining down around Eddy like a stage light. Eddy got up and then found the silhouette of a person standing in front of him. After a bit of inspection, Eddy realized it was his brother!  
"Big bro, what are you doing here?" He asked. The man didn't reply. He just stood there, casting a large shadow that engulfed Eddy inside of it. Then, Eddy started hearing voices. Angry voices; that of a man and a woman.  
"Wait a second....that sounds like my parents!" He gasped as he recognized his mother and father's voices.  
_  
"Edward, you get here this minute and apologize to him!"  
"Why can't you be more like your older brother, Edward?"  
"Your brother never did these kinds of things. I'm so disappointed in you."_

Their voices felt like arrows through Eddy's heart. All they said had to do with him and how Eddy should be more like his older, better, brother whose silhouette cast a giant shadow that Eddy stood in. Eddy started crying as the voices got louder and louder, and he collapsed on the ground. Gravity started pulling on Eddy more and more until he felt like he was getting crushed under his own weight, and Eddy felt like he was in hell.

But then, the white light appeared in front of him. The voices faded out and Eddy was able to get back up. The white started drawing Eddy in, and he started walking to it ignoring the ringing and the worried voices that came back.


	3. Chapter 3

_**"Ok, everything's ready. Be careful though; this machine is still a prototype and there are many things that can go wrong."**_

_****_

"Don't worry; I'm sure that whatever is wrong with him can be fixed somehow. Besides, it's my fault he's like this anyway."

"You'd better hurry, his heart is stopping. If you can get it restarted, then you can find a way to wake him up. But be careful, you only have three days before we have to get you out. Any longer and the effects will be permanent."

"Understood. Alright, I'm going in. My other friend is on his way to help out also, so let him in when you see him."

"Ok, be careful."

Eddy was walking toward the light slowly. The closer he got, the more at peace Eddy felt. He reached out his hand to touch it, when suddenly he felt something tugging at the back of his shirt and was pulled back.  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Eddy" said a familiar voice. Eddy, broken from his trance again, turned around to see Edd standing in front of him.  
"Double-D! It's you!" Eddy exclaimed. He was so happy to see his friend after being in this place for so long.  
"I'm so confused, I don't know what's going on! I woke up with a spike through my head and then my parents started yelling at me and then I was going toward this light and--"  
"Eddy, calm down. There's no need to use run-on sentences like that." Edd interrupted.  
"Eddy, your body is in some kind of coma. You've been out of it for about two days or so."  
"....Double-D, what happened before I passed out? I can't really remember." Eddy asked.  
"You, Ed and I were testing out my latest invention. It was supposed to be a type of interdimensional portal, but it malfunctioned and exploded. Ed and I got to safety just in time, but you were caught in the blast and knocked unconscious. You haven't woken up since."  
Eddy still didn't remember clearly, but he took Edd's word for it.  
"Ok.....So how did you get here? Are you a vision or something?" Eddy asked.  
"No Eddy, I'm using a prototype machine to transfer my mind into yours to see what's going on. By the looks of it, you're having one heck of a nightmare!"

Eddy winced as he thought about the experience he just had earlier. The pain was gone, but he could remember it as if it was still there.  
"Eddy, may I asked what happened while you were here? Your heart nearly gave out two times and tests showed you were experiencing a lot of pain."  
Eddy thought about the light he nearly went into and the ringing he heard. It must've been the hospital equipment that checks your heart rate while the worried voices were the doctors and nurses.  
"Well, I woke up in this place with a spike going through my head. I got it out but there was no hole in it or anything, so I decided to walk around for a while until I saw that light the first time. After that, I saw an image of my brother and I heard my parents chewing me out for not being like him. Then I saw the light the second time and you appeared."  
"Intriguing Eddy. This isn't like any nightmare I've ever heard of." Edd replied.  
"....Where's monobrow? Is he grounded again or something?"  
"No, but he should be here soon. He and his family took a one day vacation while you were in the hospital."

Edd and Eddy both thought about their friend. That thought turned to memories of the good times they had together, and suddenly two lights appeared from the boy's chests.  
"What is this?" Edd inquired as he studied it. It looked like a little white ball that orbited around the boys' midsections. Then, Eddy started to lift off of the ground.  
"Ah! Get me down from here!" He shouted as he tried to swim down. As if on cue, Eddy plopped down on the ground with the light following.  
"Hmm, I wonder...." Edd jumped up and stayed in the air. He looked off to an imaginary point in the distance and thought about what it would feel like to fly there. Also as if on cue, Edd shot away from Eddy into the blackness and back. He landed next to Eddy, who thought about what Edd just did and found himself hovering in the air.  
"Whoa, this would've been nice to have a few HOURS ago!" He exclaimed in ironic frustration.  
After hours of walking, suddenly finding out that you're able to fly can be a bit ironic.  
"It would seem that our good memories allow good things to happen to us in this world, Eddy." Edd explained.  
The two boys started having a little fun by flying around, doing tricks and things in midair.

After a while, Eddy noticed something strange was happening. The area around them started getting a bit brighter, and soon random white number started appearing. The blackness started fading to a dark blue.  
"What's happening, Double-D?" Eddy asked as a large number four slowly floated past him.  
"The doctor said that the machine merges not only two person's subconsciouses, but also their imaginations. This must be my mind seeping into the world were in right now."  
"And of course, all there is are numbers and stuff. Geese Sockhead, can't you get a hobby?" Eddy said.  
Edd just rolled his eyes and went to the ground. By then the world looked like a giant blueprint sheet; numbers and graphs started forming and even the floor had a grid on it.  
_"Getting in here was easy enough, but how am I supposed to get Eddy out?"_ He thought to himself. Even though he and Eddy's minds were connected, Edd couldn't make anything happen in the place. Unlike normal dreams, neither Edd nor Eddy could just think about something and have it come true. It was as if they were in a whole different reality.


	4. Chapter 4

_**"I hope Eddy and Double-D are all right...............Is this it? 'Peach Creek Institute for Un-or-ortho-d-dox Disease and Inj-ury'. I guess this is the place...............Hello, I'm seeing my friend Eddy, where is he?"**_

_****_

"Let's see.......His name is Eddy, right? He should be in room 14-B, just go through the hall on the right and down the stairs. It should be the second door on your left."

"Thank you, Miss...............Alright, and down the stairs...............Through the door.........Oh, hello doctor!"

"Greetings, your friend told me you'd come."

"What happened to Eddy?......And why is Double-D sleeping next to him with all of those things hooked up to him?"

"His body is inanimate while his mind is inside of your friend's. If you'd like to join them, step right here and I'll hook you up."

"Cool, this'll be just like in 'Brain invaders That Take Over People's Brains'! A classic."

"....Err, ok. Anyway, just hold still and I'll hook you up. This might pinch a little.........That's it, just hold still.......And the last one........There, got it. Now relax while I turn it on."

"This is gonna be so cool!"

The next thing Ed felt was an unpleasant surge of electricity flowing through his head. He felt as if his mind was being pulled out of his skull.  
He crashed to the ground with a big 'thud'. Ed got up and looked around, and saw numbers and lines all over the place.  
"Wow, I didn't know Eddy was smart!" The boy said to himself as he looked around. Out of sheer impulse, he jumped onto a large number five that was next to him. It couldn't hold up Ed's weight and flattened completely under the boy.  
"Aw, it is sleeping!" Ed said as he examined the now two-dimensional number on the ground. Ed looked all around him but couldn't see his friends, so he picked a direction and started running.

Meanwhile, Edd and Eddy were waiting for their friend to appear.  
"How long did it take you to get into my head, Double-D?" Eddy asked.  
"Well, the machine was programmed so my mind would land in the part of your subconscious that was experiencing the most stress. But since you're not in any danger anymore, Ed could've appeared just about anywhere."  
"If that lump messes around with anything in my brain I'm gonna hit him so hard..."  
"Don't worry, Eddy. From the looks of things, this place isn't so much of your brain as it is a dream of some sort. I don't see how Ed could do any mental damage to you without you being near him." Edd replied.  
"This place is so weird. It's not like any dream or nightmare I've ever had before. So what's a sub con-co-nsh-"  
"Subconscious, Eddy. It is the part in your mind that stores every thought, feeling and memory you ever had. It's different for everyone, and it can be a place of wonder or a place of horror. That is, depending on what the person has been through during their life."  
Eddy did a rare thing; he started thinking to himself. Edd noticed and started thinking to himself as well. Both of the young boys were hovering in midair, with a strange little light circling around them.

Back where Ed was, things started to change. The area around him started becoming lighter, while the numbers and figures started distorting into trees and rocks. The ground started raising and lowering, with hills and valleys forming as the grid faded into lush grass.  
"Whoa, did I do this?" Ed thought to himself.  
"**ED**_!!_" said a familiar voice. Ed turned around and gasped in horror. Towering over him was Sarah, only she was now 50 feet tall.  
"Sarah?!?!?? What are you doing here?!?" Ed shouted.  
"**YOU DIDN'T PLAY WITH ME TODAY! I'M TELLING MOM!!**" boomed the giantess. Her voice rattled Ed's ribs. She was normally as loud as a banshee, but being over 15 times her normal size made her shreaking voice deafening to anyone who was not as strong as Ed was.  
"No Sarah! Please don't tell Mom!" Ed pleaded. Sarah picked up a large boulder and chucked it at Ed. He was not fast enough to dodge the projectile and was crushed into the ground painfully. He quickly got up and started running from his giant baby sister as fast as he could. Thinking about how he could've possibly survived a two and a half ton boulder being thrown at him was the last of Ed's worries, for he suddenly heard his mother talking to him.  
"_Ed, how could you do that do your little sister?_"  
"But Mom, I-"  
"_Don't give me back talk! You hurt my sweet, precious angel!_"  
"But I didn't do anything! She threw a giant rock at-"  
"_Lying will only make things worse, now go and apologise to her!_"  
Each word stung Ed's heart like a bee. His mother had scolded him because of Sarah before, but she was always forgiving and never sounded like this. Ed had to either face the scolding his mother or the wrath of Sarah. He didn't know what was more painful.

"....Hey Eddy, look!" Edd said as he noticed the area changing. It started to change into grasslands and forests. A river came flowing down between the two boys with a creamy brown liquid flowing down it.  
"I'm guessing Ed's here. That or someone has a really bad case of the ru-"  
"Eddy! That's disgusting, don't say that! Of course Ed's here, who else could have an imagination where gravy flowed in rivers?!?" Edd fumed.  
"Well at least Ed has an imagination, Sockhead!" Eddy replied. Edd was a little steamed at what Eddy said, but he knew it was true. Suddenly, the two heard screaming from the distance. It sounded like Ed, and they flew off to save their friend.

"**NOW, ED, GO DRESS UP MY DOLLIES!**" Shouted Sarah as she flicked him towards a 20 foot stuffed bear. Ed grabbed the large doll clothes and started climbing up the massive stuffed animal. Along the way he heard the harsh words of his mother echoing in his head for being a horrible brother and a liar.  
Ed could barely take it anymore when suddenly, a magnificent light appeared below. The large teddy bear dissolved where the light reached it and Ed plopped to the ground. The screaming of his 50 foot sister and the scolding of his mother started fading out as Ed got closer to the light. He had to touch it, not matter what.  
Ed held out his hand to touch the light when he realized it wasn't there anymore. He saw things whizzing past him as he realized he was being carried by something. He looked up and saw Edd and Eddy, who set him down gently on a small hill.  
"You really gave us a scare there, monobrow! Do NOT go into that light!" Eddy said. Ed, who hadn't seen his friend awake for three days, hugged Eddy and Edd so tightly they would've suffocated in real life.  
"Ed....Let....go..." Edd coughed. Ed obeyed his friend's command and stopped hugging them.  
"Geese, my ears are ringing from having to listen to Sarah in stereo!" Eddy complained as he twisted his finger inside of his ear.  
"It was horrible guys! Sarah appeared and she was giant and then I heard my mother yelling at me for things I didn't do and I was crushed by a rock and-"  
"We get it, Ed. Eddy went through something similar, but for some reason nothing has happened to me yet." Edd said with a hint of nervousness in his voice. He was right; nothing HAD happened to Edd yet, and that got him worried.  
"You guys are the best friends I could ever have!" Ed shouted, with tears in his eyes. Suddenly, a light appeared from Ed's chest and started hovering around him. Ed then noticed that Edd and Eddy had lights hovering around them too.  
"Whoa, what are these things guys?" Ed asked, poking his light and watching it wobble back on course.  
"We're not sure ourselves. It appeared when Eddy and I were thinking about you, and apparently it appeared when you thought about us. Either way, we found out it allows us to fly!" Edd explained. This got Ed really excited, and without thinking (Which is normal for the big lummox) he launched up into the sky. Edd and Eddy gave chase, and soon the three boys were racing off into the distance in midair, doing tricks and dodging stars that hovered around them. They eventually got into a midair dog pile which sent them hurtling toward the ground. They laughed as they got up but soon stopped when they noticed the shadowy figure standing right in front of them


	5. Chapter 5

_**"I hope those boys are alright. Edd has been in the machine for nearly 27 hours now, and the other Ed will have to be ejected at the same time as the first when his three days are up."**_

**_"Doctor, I just got recent mental stress charts on the tall boy. He just recently went through a massive amount of mental pain!"_**

**_"It would seem that something is digging into the three boy's subconsiouses and using it to cause them pain for some reason. This is very strange."_**

The three Eds looked up at the figure in front of them and quickly backed away in fear. He looked like a 14 year-old boy, with straight black hair and a large trench coat to match. His skin was very pale and he wore blue jeans and sneakers. He looked at the Eds with a blank expression that could pierce through your soul like a hot knife through butter. His eyes had no color; the boy's iris's were white.  
"....Who are you?" Eddy said when he finally got the courage to speak.  
"My name is Painajainen. I was sent by the doctor to help out your condition." The boy said.  
"What kinda name is Painaj-jain-en?" Eddy blurted out.  
"It's Finnish." Painajainen replied softly. Ed and Eddy just looked at the boy blankly.  
"He means he's from Finland." Edd explained.  
"Oh." The boys said in unison.  
"You can just call me Jainen if you want. Follow me, I know the way out." The boy started floating away while beckoning the three others to follow.

The Eds followed Jainen for a few hours until they reached a sort of forest. But unlike other forests, the trees were so close together that they seemed to form a large box, save for a parting near the middle. Edd noticed that Jainen could fly yet he didn't have a little light following him. When the boys went into the forest, they plopped to the ground and their lights disappeared.  
"We are going to the edge of Eddy's mind, so you won't be able to do anything you couldn't do in real life from here on." Said Jainen softly. He had nearly a monotone voice and Edd simply assumed he didn't get out very much. Eddy grumbled while Ed pouted a little at the fact that they couldn't fly anymore, but they went on. The forest seemed like a maze, with lots of partings and intersections and different paths to choose from. But Jainen went through them as if he lived in the strange place. After what seemed like a few hours, a tree fell down right in front of Edd, who'd been trailing behind the group a little while he was lost in his thoughts.  
"Double-D! Are you ok?!?" Eddy shouted. The tree was very large; its trunk looked over 15 feet high.  
"I'm fine Eddy, the tree simply fell in front of me. But it's too large for me to climb over!" Edd shouted. He suddenly felt a surge of fear and realization fall over him; when Eddy and Ed were alone, they had to live through their worst nightmares and insecurities. And now Edd was alone.  
Edd tried to calm down but suddenly felt it getting hotter around him. The trees started catching on fire as another tree fell behind Edd, trapping him. Edd's hat suddenly disappeared and everything seemed to get taller around him. He had turned into a small child no older than five, and the burning forest around him turned into a burning house.  
"Oh no, not again!" Edd shouted. A wooden pillar that was on fire fell on his head, which was covered in shiny black hair. He screamed as his head caught on fire, singeing the skin on it and causing Edd to double over in pain. Like last time, he quickly patted the fire on his head out with his hands and tried to find a way out.

"We should go; we can pull your friend out of your subconscious when we get back." Jainen said coolly.  
"No! If something bad happens to Double-D, that white light could appear and he could walk into it and die! We have to get to him before that happens!" Eddy said. He knew what happened to him and Ed, and he knew that nothing horrible had happened to Edd yet.  
"We can't do anything about it, that log is too large. We must hurry back before your friend dies." Jainen said. Eddy simply ignored him and tried to find a way to get to Edd.

Edd knew what was going to happen next. He saw the silhouette of a man and a woman in the flames. And he heard screaming from them, horrible screaming that could put even Ed at his happiest into the fetal position. Edd was watching his parents die in the fire that burnt down his house. The top of his head, which was once filled with black hair, was now a deformed pile of burnt skin with nothing but a few stray hairs around it.  
Edd broke down crying. He had suppressed this memory for so many years; living alone while subconsciously writing letters on sticky-notes and believing they were from his parents. He had lived off of the family fortune that was left from the fire, and no one ever found out that he was an orphan.  
But now he was living and reliving that memory over and over again in detail, from his head catching on fire to listening to the piercing screams of his parents. Edd was wracked with pain, both physical and mental for what seemed like an eternity. But then a bright, white-colored light appeared in front of him.


	6. Chapter 6

_**"Doctor! Come quick, Edd's going into shock!"**_

_****_

"What?!? Let me see......Oh dear, his mental stress levels are off the charts! What on Earth is going on?"

"I don't know. I tried all sorts of diagnositcs but his body is in perfect working order as well. I tried to call his parents to tell them but they didn't answer."

"Edd and Ed only have 34 hours until we have to pull them out of Eddy's mind. Any longer and they'll be conjoined perminently and none of them will wake up.

"Ed, boost me up!" Eddy shouted as his friend came over.  
"Okie Dokie Eddy!" Ed replied, oblivious to the fact that Edd could be in danger. He came over to Eddy and picked him up by his feet. Ed and Eddy reached as high as they could but they still couldn't get over the massive overturned tree.  
"If only Double-D were here. He could help!"  
"Ed, Double-D is on the other side of the log and he's probably going through hell over there!" Eddy shouted. After a few seconds, Ed registered what Eddy said to him.  
"OH NO!! DOUBLE-D IS IN DANGER?!?" Ed shouted. He heaved and threw Eddy high up over the log and, with his uncanny strength, jumped up after him. They both landed on top of the log and looked in horror at what was in front of them. There was a small house that was completely on fire. Wasting no time, Ed and Eddy quickly ran into the house and saw a little five-year-old child walking toward a brilliant light in front of him.

Edd had to walk into that light, he just had to. With each step he took the pain grew weaker and weaker.  
"DOUBLE-D!!!" He heard someone shout. He stopped, but was too scared to turn around. He wouldn't turn back, not after what he'd been through. He resumed walking towards the light. He was about to touch it when he felt something. The light disappeared and the house started spinning around Edd. The next thing he knew, he was back in the forest next to Eddy, who'd put his hand on his shoulder.  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Double-D." Eddy said softly. He remembered how Edd had saved him from his torture, and Eddy had finally repaid the favor. Edd, overflowing with tears, bent down and hugged Eddy, much to his uncomfort and confusion.  
"How did you get to me?" Edd asked.  
"When I told monobrow that you were in danger, the idiot threw me over the log. The next thing I saw was a house on fire and you were a five year old with his head burning."  
"Double-D, what happened?" Ed asked. His voice was serious and concerning, which was extremely rare for the boy. But he was serious; he saw how much pain Edd was in.  
"Back when I was around four or five, I was a rowdy no-gooder who always made a mess of things. But one day I went too far and started playing with matches. I accidentally lit the house on fire and my parents burned to death. You two saw what was under my hat when you attached it to the ceiling during the time when you started breaking the rules. A burning piece of wood hit my head and left the entire top of it scared and burnt, and to this day I can't bear to reveal it to the other kids." Edd explained. Ed and Eddy saddened; they never knew Edd went through so much at such a young age. But they were happy to have their friend back, and Edd was happy too.  
Ed threw Edd and Eddy back over the log and jumped after them. They came to the other side to meet with Painajainen.  
"You could've gotten yourselves killed." He said with a stern yet somewhat deadpan voice. Without another word he started walking off, with the three Eds following closely after him.  
After what seemed like more hours of walking, they finally reached a path that had a wall of light at the end. Ed, Edd, and Eddy got a little concerned; they knew that walking into a certain light would kill you. But this light was like a curtain that spread for as far as the eye could see in either direction. Jainen walked into it casually and disappeared. Ed had the courage to go next. Edd went afterwards and disappeared also. Eddy gathered up his courage and stepped into the light.

The next thing Eddy knew, he felt like he was falling very fast. Eddy tried to open his eyes but he couldn't. He suddenly landed on something soft and slowly opened his eyes.  
"It looks like he's finally awake." said a familiar voice. Eddy opened his eyes and saw Ed and Edd over him.  
"Oh, I feel weird" Eddy said groggily. He got up and started stretching. He turned to Painajainen, who was standing near the door.  
"Thank you for helping me and my friends, Jainen. You're a pretty cool dude." Eddy said. Jainen just nodded and stepped aside to let the three boys out. After about an hour or two of walking, the three boys finally reached the cul-de-sac. It was getting late, so they said their goodbyes and went their separate ways for the night. Eddy got into bed and let out a sigh of relief. It was all over.


	7. Chapter 7

_"....Huh, where am I?.......I must be dreaming. Ugg, I'm sick of dreams right now. Well, I guess I'll have to wait until I wake up. Might as well make the best of it..........Huh, what are you doing here?.....Wait, no, stop!!  
AAAA_AAAAHHH!!!" Eddy screamed as he shot up. He looked around and saw he was in his bedroom.  
"It was just another nightmare. Maybe that karma stuff Double-D told me once is true." He looked over at his alarm clock, it was almost noon. Eddy suddenly heard knocking on the door. He opened it and saw Edd and Ed.  
"Hi Eddy!"  
"Hey Ed, Double-D. So, what's the plan for today?" Eddy asked. He was still a little shaken by his dream. He tried to remember it, but it started seeping from his memory. All he remembered was that he had a nightmare.  
"I'm not sure. Let's go to Ed's house and think up something." Edd replied. They started walking to Ed's house when Kevin suddenly pulled up.  
"What do you want, Shovel-Chin?" Eddy asked rudley.  
"I heard about what happened to you a few days ago." Kevin replied.  
"Yea, what about it?"  
"Well, the doctor told me that inside your head you were getting womped, so you're a pretty tough guy to be able to stand up to that."  
The Eds stood in shock at what could possibly be taken as a compliment from Kevin.  
"Anyway, we're throwing you a welcome back party. You wanna come?"  
"....Wait, is this some kind of trick? Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?" Eddy asked.  
"No no, I promise this isn't a trick. Nazz thought of it and invited you to come."  
"Nazz threw a party for me? Come on, guys, let's go!" Eddy said as he raced off with Edd and Ed.  
"Wait up. The other two dorks can't come, they'll just dork up the place. You're the one who was in a coma."  
"You mean Ed and Double-D can't come with me?" Eddy had to choose between his friends and something he wanted before, but this time he was actually gonna be the guest of honor at a party. He thought for a while, looking back and fourth between Kevin and the other two Eds. Kevin started going away on his bike.  
"......Hey Kev, wait up!" Eddy yelled, running after him.  
"What just happened, Double-D?" Ed asked sadly.  
"Eddy betrayed us, Ed. That's what happened." Edd said sadly. Eddy had abandoned his friends in the past but for some reason it really hurt Edd that time. The two Eds snuck behind Eddy and followed him to the party.  
"Hey Eddy, I'm glad you're alive!" Nazz said as she hugged Eddy. Naturally, the boy melted into a puddle and resolidified on the ground like a cartoon, making Nazz chuckle a bit. He got up and started dancing with the other kids.  
"So Eddy, what happened while you were asleep?" Sarah asked him as they danced.  
"Well, it was pretty rough. All sorts of bad things started happening and I was completely unarmed, but I took on everything that came at me. I'm just that cool." Eddy bragged.  
Edd, who was listening through the fence, was discusted at the lie Eddy was telling.  
The kids urged him to go into detail, and Eddy spun a web of lies about what happend in his head. He told about brave battles, verocious monsters and horrible experiences. But he never mentioned the fact that Edd saved his life. In fact, he didn't even say that Ed and Edd were in there with him.  
The other Eds listened to every word, which stung like a pinch of salt on an open wound.  
Afterwards, the kids had lunch inside.  
"You know Eddy, you're not such a dork when you're not scamming people or hanging out with the other dorks. You should hang out with us more often." Kevin said.  
"Sure, Kevin. You're not such a jerk after all."  
After Edd and Ed heard that through the window, they started walking away from the kid who was once their friend.  
"See you later Ed, I'm going for a walk in the woods."  
"Bye Double-D." Ed said unhappilly as he walked back to his house.  
Edd put on all of his germ-deflecting equipment and headed into the woods. He wasn't normally one to take walks but Eddy's decision made him frustrated enough to do so. He walked on and on, not knowing or caring where he went or where he was going. All he could think about was how he and Ed helped Eddy and how Eddy didn't even mention them. Plus, he didn't even mention Painajainen. As Edd thought about Eddy bitterly, those thoughts soon turned into memories of the few good things Eddy did in their friendship. He remembered how Eddy saved him from the Kanker sisters after Edd got beat up by Jimmy and the select few other nice things Eddy did. As Edd thought about Eddy, a small light appeared from his chest and Edd found himself floating a few inches above the ground.  
"What's going on?" He asked himself. The light suddenly shot off further into the woods but stopped before it was out of sight, as if it was beckoning Edd to follow.. He quickly followed it down the woods as fast as he could, dodging trees and rocks. When he finally reached it, it started orbiting around him like last time. He then saw the sky in front of him. Or more accurately, a sort of wall that _looked_ like the sky. Edd looked around and saw it went up and arced behind him. He touched it and found it was solid as a rock. The sky was a giant dome that encased the entire cul-de-sac.  
"_Oh god, we're still here?"_


	8. Chapter 8

_**"This is not looking good. Edd and Ed only have 3 hours until we have to get them out of the machine."**_

_**  
"Doctor, come here for a minute."**_

_****_

"What's wrong?"

"Look at this. The three boys' brainwaves are fading. It's as if their minds are starting to vanish into thin air!"

"What on Earth is going on?"

Edd started panicking when he realized that he was still in Eddy's mind. He followed the "sky" to the right and eventually went in a full circle around the cul-de-sac. The sky was a dome made of a solid material, and he, Ed, and Eddy were trapped inside.  
"I have to warn Ed about this!" he said to himself as he started flying back to Ed's house. He knew that if they were separated, the Eds would start facing their worst nightmares and experiences. He was almost out of the woods when he noticed Kevin next to one of the trees. Edd stopped and hid. He looked at Kevin and gasped in horror as the boy started to change shape. Kevin started growing taller and his skin started going pale. His hair turned from a buzz cut to straight, black hair that went down an inch past his ears. His green sweatshirt turned into a black overcoat and his eyes changed color from his regular brown to a misty white. Edd no longer saw Kevin walking behind the lane; he saw Painajainen. Wasting no time, Edd quickly flew as fast as he could to Ed's house.  
"Almost there..." Edd said to himself. He saw out of the corner of his eye that Jainen spotted him. As if he was faster than lightning, Jainen suddenly appeared in front of Edd. Edd looked into his disturbingly blank eyes, and couldn't stop looking. They were peircing him, freezing him in place with their ice-cold stare. After a few seconds, Edd started falling, and he landed in a small, burning house.

Meanwhile, Eddy was walking over to school with the other "kids".  
"So, what's this surprise you have for me at school?"  
"You'll see" said Nazz.  
"....Where'd Kevin go?" Eddy asked.  
"Uh...He had to go get something at his house. Yea." said Jonny. Eddy noticed some nervousness in his voice, but just ignored it. He and the rest of the kids got to the school and went to the auditorium.  
"Get up on stage and we'll surprise you!" said Rolf. Eddy, thinking he was going to have confetti or water balloons rain down on him, excitedly got up on stage. He waited for a bit and noticed that the other kids were gone. Suddenly, a spotlight turned on. Eddy looked up in horror to see the silhouette of a man in front of him, casting a large shadow over the short boy's body. And then he started to hear his parents' voices.

Ed was in his basement, reading his comics like he normally does when he can't play with Edd or Eddy. He was a little upset at Eddy's betrayal, but didn't exactly understand why he did it. He turned the page and started reading when he heard a knock on the door. The boy got up and started walking toward it. The person knocking became impatient and started pounding on the door.  
"Hold on, I'm coming!" Ed said, slightly annoyed. He got to the door and saw his mother, who was staring daggers at him.  
"Edward, you're coming with me mister!" she shouted as he grabbed Ed's ear and started dragging him upstairs. Ed was confused at his mother's sudden bitterness. She dragged him to the front door and outside of the house. To Ed's horror, he saw Sarah on the front lawn. A 50 foot tall Sarah, that is.

Edd woke up and saw fire all around him. It was his worst memory, and once again he was reliving it. He tried to move out of the way when the flaming plank of wood fell, but no matter where he went it managed to set his hair on fire. And no matter where he ran, he couldn't stop hearing the screams of his parents. Everywhere he went there was fire and the screams of his dying parents. Suddenly, the other kids appeared and saw his burnt, scared head. They started laughing at him, and it sounded just as bloodcurdling as his parent's screams. Edd curled up into a ball as he realized that no one was going to save him this time.

Eddy was standing in his brother's enormous shadow while he heard his parents comparing Eddy to him in every way. Their voices were harsh and scolding, and though Eddy's parents have been hard on him they were never this bad. It was as if they never wanted to have anything to do with Eddy since he was born. It was nearly unbearable, but Eddy knew it was either that or death. He was starting to wonder if dying was all that bad.

Ed screamed as Sarah picked him up and slammed him to the ground.  
"Now play with your baby sister and don't you dare think about hurting her!" Ed's mom screamed as she went back into the house. Sarah was having a good time pounding Ed into the ground, much to the poor boy's suffering. The boy was strong as well as durable (How many people can run into a solid wooden fence and break right through it without a scratch?) but Sarah was always able to pound him into submission at regular size. Now she was delivering ground shattering punches that caused Ed to cough up blood.  
"Edward! Clean up that mess immediately!" his mother's voice scolded. Ed took his jacket and started cleaning up the blood, finally having earned a break from Sarah's beatings. But right afterward she continued mercilessly pounding Ed into the ground.

Meanwhile, Painajainen was standing on top of a nearby cliff. Even though he couldn't see them, knew the three Eds were suffering yet he did nothing.. He just stared at the cul-de-sac with his disturbingly blank, expressionless face.


	9. Chapter 9

_**"This is not good. I warned Edd about the dangers of going into someone else's subconscious! He and Ed only have 1 hour until we pull them out. Not only that, but it seems their minds are fading away. If Eddy stays in this state for much longer, he might never come back."**_

Eddy was still suffering at the hands--or, voices, of his parents. He was being compared to his brother in every way and scolded for not being as good as him. Normally things like this wouldn't bother Eddy very much, but he realized it was all true.  
"I guess I deserve this after betraying Ed and Double-D like that." He said to himself as he was confined within his brother's shadow. He thought about them and how he would probably never see their faces again.  
"It was my fault they even got into this mess. Now they're probably suffering as well."  
After a while, Eddy suddenly sat up.  
"Ed! Double-D!! I gotta help them, I just gotta!" He said. Courage was rushing into his body as the memories of his friends were flashing through his mind. He tried to run out of the auditorium but it was locked. Even though he got over his pain, he was still trapped. Eddy then turned to the silhouette of his brother.  
"Hey! Look, I'm not as good as you but I need to save my friends!" Eddy shouted. The massive figure turned its head and looked at Eddy.  
"And you're my friend too, bro! You taught me everything you knew about scamming and women! Are you really just going to sit there and let Mom and Dad chew me out like this?"  
The voices of Eddy's parents suddenly stopped. The rest of the lights in the room turned on and Eddy could see his brother standing in front of him. The man smiled and then faded away without a word. Eddy heard a faint click; he opened the now-unlocked door and ran out of the school.

Meanwhile, Edd was suffering in his own private hell. He was in the body of his five-year-old self inside of a burning building. His head was burnt and deformed and the other kids in the cul-de-sac were laughing at him. The only thing worse than the laughter was the bloodcurdling screams of Edd's parents, who were suffering in the blaze. Edd was sprawled on the floor, broken down into tears.  
"_Double-D! DOUBLE-DEEEE!!!!"_  
Through all of the laughter and screaming, Edd heard someone call out his nickname.

Eddy was outside of a burning house. Knowing Edd was in there, Eddy tried to find a way in. The door was locked and the handle was red hot. The windows were all broken but the edges were still lined with sharp pieces of glass. All Eddy could do was call out and hope Edd would reach him.  
"Double-D! DOUBLE-DEEEE!!!!" He shouted.  
"Listen, you can get out of this nightmare! You made your mistake, but it's over and in the past now! You just have to let it go!" Eddy had never heard himself speak that kind of wisdom before, but he wasn't concerned. All he could do was hope that Edd heard him.

"_You just have to let it go!_"

As Edd heard that, memories of his parents started flooding through his head.  
"Mother. Father. I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do now." Edd gathered his strength and ran to the door. He unlocked it and turned the handle; ignoring the pain it caused his hand. Edd opened the door and jumped out of the house. As he looked back, the house started to collapse. The flames eventually snuffed themselves out and left behind piles of burnt wood and ash. Edd slowly walked over the ruins, carefully avoiding spots that were still red hot. The kids had disappeared, but Edd spotted his parents trapped beneath a burnt support beam. He rushed over and knelt down in front of them. They were burnt and bruised and on the verge of dying. Their faces were tattered and deformed, but Edd didn't care. They were his parents, and he loved them. Edd's father took out a single sticky note while his mother took out a pen. Using the last of their strength, they helped the other write something on the note and put it in Edd's trembling hand.

* * *

_Dear Eddward,  
We love you so very much. Please be a good boy in the future._Edd took the note and held it to his heart. He had forgotten that his parents had forgiven him for what he'd done. He looked at his parents, who gave their son one last smile before fading away with the rest of the house. Edd, with his face soaking with tears, stood up in his preteen body and turned around to see Eddy behind him.  
"......Hey." was all Eddy said.  
"You were the one calling my name, weren't you?" Edd questioned. Eddy simply nodded, and much to his surprise Edd reached out and hugged the small kid.  
"Thank you, Eddy."  
"N-no problem, Double-D." Eddy replied, not used to this kind of affection from Edd.  
"....ED!" Eddy shouted as he pushed Edd away.  
"We need to help Ed out! Come on!"

Love,  
Mother and Father.

* * *

Ed, meanwhile, was still suffering at the enlarged hands of his 50-foot kid sister.  
"**ED! TAKE MY DOLLIES UP TO MY ROOM!!**" She boomed as she dropped a large teddy bear on top of him. Ed was used to his sister ordering him around, but her beatings were merciless and his mother watched Ed's every move with fierce and angry eyes. The boy, with his superhuman strength, picked the stuffed bear up and started walking over towards the house.  
"** FASTER!!**" Sarah screamed as she pounded the doll--and Ed--into the ground.

Edd and Eddy rushed towards Ed's house, the giant little girl in plain view. Edd caught something out of the corner of his eye. He turned around to see Painajainen a few feet away from the duo. Edd noticed that the boy had a large crack going through his body and clothes as if he was made of stone. Before Edd could react though, the pale boy disappeared into thin air.  
"Edd, come on!" Eddy shouted. The boys got there just in time to see Sarah pounding a giant stuffed animal into the ground, with Ed supposedly under it. The boys tried to get closer but Sarah saw them and swatted them away.  
"ED! Stop letting Sarah push you around!" Eddy called. Edd tried to yell also but his voice didn't seem to reach.

"_ED! Stop letting Sarah push you around!_" Ed heard from under the giant teddy bear.  
"_You're the big brother! You should be telling on HER for the things she did to you!_" Ed got out from the bear and thought about what the voice--which Ed couldn't quite figure out who it belonged to--said.  
"I'm the older brother, so why do I have to be afraid of my little sister? Why can't Sarah do things herself for once? What would happen if I wasn't there to do Sarah's bidding?" These out-of-character-istic thoughts raced through Ed's head as Sarah prepared to smash him into the ground. She threw her fist hard and it headed straight for Ed. All Eddy and Edd could do was watch as Sarah was about to piledrive the boy into the ground. But to everyone's surprise, Ed caught it. He grabbed Sarah's enlarged knuckle and with his strength he threw it back, making the girl stumble backward a little.  
"Baby sister is a baby no more! Stop telling me what to do Sarah!" Ed shouted. Sarah looked at the boy with a confused face, and the Eds noticed she shrunk a little.  
"You always tell me what to do and threaten to tell Mom on me if you don't get your way! I am sick of it!" With each word the giantess shrank more and more.  
"One day I'm not going to help you and Mom's not gonna be around so you're going to have to do things yourself! And that day is today!" With those final words, Sarah had shrunk back down to her half-pint size and started crying. Ed was about to go over there to comfort her, but Eddy and Edd went up and stopped him. Sarah eventually stopped crying and started walking back into the house. Ed looked at the front door to see his mother looking at him. But instead of the scolding face she had earlier, she smiled at Ed and gave him a wink before closing the door.  
Ed had finally stood up to Sarah and got her to stop treating him like a slave. Well, inside Eddy's subconscious that is. He turned to his friends and hugged them.  
"Ok Ed, you can let go now" Edd choked as Ed released the boys from his death grip. They had finally overcome their trials and ordeals and were all together again.  
Suddenly, Painajainen appeared in front of them. His hands were trembling and there were large cracks all over his body, yet his face was still disturbingly emotionless.  
"How......how do you just get rid of pain that has been with you for almost all of your life......I don't understand...." His voice was blank as usual but Edd could hear a bit of confusion in it.  
"We got rid of our pain by helping each other out, that's what!" Eddy blurted out.  
"Eddy's right. We were able to get out of our pain by assisting one another, because that's what friends do!" After Edd said the last few words, more cracks started appearing on Jainen's body and a dark aura was starting to emanate from them.  
"True friends can help each other do anything! No matter what you do, Jainen, you won't be able to tear us apart!"  
After that sentence, the aura that was seeping from the cracks started blasting out of them and the boy shattered into darkness. The place started trembling and houses started falling down. Cracks started forming in the sky and soon it broke apart, revealing blackness behind it. The three boys huddled together and avoided the large chunks of apparently rock that were falling. Suddenly, Edd and Ed started to turn transparent.  
"Guys, what's happening?"  
"Oh no, has it really been three days alrea-" Before Edd could finish, he and Ed disappeared, and Eddy was all alone again.


	10. Chapter 10

_**".....Oh, my head.......Huh? Where am I?"**_

_**  
"You're back in reality, Edd. We pulled you out of Eddy's subconscious just now."**_

_**  
"Eddy's all alone again now. But at least we got rid of Painajainen before we left."**_

_**  
"Who?"**_

_**  
"Long story. Anyway, we still haven't find out any way to get Eddy back."**_

_**  
"I'm afraid that we're running out of time as well. Recent data shows that Eddy's brainwaves are fading."**_

_**  
"What?!? How is that possible doctor?"**_

_**  
"I don't know. It's as if his mind is being sucked into another dimension or something."**_

_**  
".......Another dimension! That's it!! Doctor, hand me a piece of paper and a pen.........Thank you..........And we'll need this............Ok doctor, please get me the supplies on this list. Ed, go to Eddy's house and all of his father's power tools. We might just be able to save him!" **_

"Well, I guess I'm all alone again." Eddy said as he sat on a peice of rubble. The sky around him was black and the ground was the ruins of the fake cul-de-sac, which collapsed after Painajainen disappeared. Eddy thought of his friends, and the little light that orbited around him glowed with a warm light.  
"At least Ed and Double-D are alright." he said to himself. He was happy that he could help his friends get over their fears and past experiences, as well as overcoming his own. But he was alone again with nothing but his light and piles of rubble around him.  
After who-knows-how-long, according to Eddy, he noticed something nearby. It looked like a dent, floating a few feet in the air. Eddy went closer to the strange occurrence. It looked as if space itself was being pulled into an unimaginable direction. Eddytook a few steps back as he noticed it getting larger and he heard a sucking sound coming from it. It turned from a dent in space to what looked like a circular void, lightly sucking in the air around it. It was growing bigger and the sucking became stronger, much to Eddy's horror. He looked at the inside and chills went up his spine. The area around Eddywas as black as black could get, but the area inside of the void was darker then total darkness. It was as if it broke the limits of how black and cold something could ever get, as if it was darker than hell. It was now violently sucking in rocks and debris around it. Eddy flew away as fast as he could only to see the void growing faster and faster, as if it was chasing him. It was pulling in the very space around it, and Eddysaw his body stretching out as his legs were being pulled in.

_**"....Ok, just a few more adjustments....."**_

_**  
"You must hurry, Edd! Eddy's brainwaves are almost gone and what's left of them indicates that Eddy's mental stress is rising."**_

_**  
"Ok, it's done."**_

_**  
"Are you sure this'll work, Double-D?"**_

_**  
"**__**Not I'm not, Ed. But Eddy's mind will be gone forever if we don't try, so we'll just have to take our chances."**_

Eddy's foot was slowly being stretched into the void. It felt cold, colder than Eddy had ever felt before. But suddenly, the void stopped growing.

_**"I think it's working!"**_

Eddy flew and returned to his normal, short length, both to his disappointment and relief. He looked and saw the void shrinking as fast as it was growing a few seconds ago. The ruins of the cul-de-sac it swallowed returned to their normal place, and the void soon disappeared completely.

_**"Edd, his brainwaves are returning! You're machine worked!"**_

The blackness around Eddy started getting brighter. The sky was turning a deep blue while the ground started becoming green and grassy. Eddy felt something tap his leg. It was a large, basket-ball shaped sphere that looked like it was coated in sugar. It was a jawbreaker, as good as they come. Eddy turned to its direction and saw a whole mountain of them right beside him. The boy shouted with glee as he was about to feast upon the sweet, sugary spheres.

_**"I think we can wake him up now."**_

Eddy backed up from the pile slowly.

_**"Eddy, wake up."**_

Once he got to a reasonable distance, he took off and charged towards the mountain of candy.

_**"Come on Eddy, wake up!**_

He jumped fifty feet into the air, almost as high as the jawbreaker pile went.

**_"Wake up! Wake _u**p Eddy!"  
"...H-huh?" Eddy said as he groggily opened his eyes. His vision was blurry, but it soon cleared up. Eddy looked and saw Edd, Ed, and a man in front of him.  
"Whoa, I had one heck of a dream guys." he said.  
"That was no dream, Eddy. Well, it techincally was but it affected Ed and me as well."  
"Yea, we went into your brain and bad things started happening to us and Jainen exploded and it was so cool!" Ed blurted out.  
"So, it was all real? Well, it all happened to you guys or.....I'm confused. How did this even happen anyway?" Eddy asked.  
"Eddy, you remember a few days ago I tried to make an interdemensional portal machine, right?"  
"...Sorta."  
"Well, when it exploded, the main component hit you in the head. I'm not entirely sure, but I hypothesize that it had connected with your brain in some way." Edd explained.  
"So?"  
"So, it was slowly eating away at your mind, causing it to slip away into another dimension. Your consciousness was half way into the space between dimensions. So that's why you couldn't wake up. I also believe that Jainen was a being from another dimension that seeped into your memories and fed on them. Apparently he fed on pain and agony, so he tried to cause as much of it to us as possible. This is all in theory of course, but it's the best explanation I've got."  
"So, how did you get me out of it then? All I remember is this void thingy opening up and sucking everything in, then it closed and it turned into a regular dream where it was nice and I was surrounded by jawbreakers and-" Eddy cut off his sentence when he realised he had woken up from a good dream.  
"You jerk! I was just about to eat a mouthful of jawbreakers until you woke me up!" he shouted in rage. He went to grab Edd's shirt when he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. He reached his hand behind it and felt wires sticking out of the boy's cranium.  
"Be careful Eddy, if I don't remove those wires properly they could leave permanent damage!" Edd said as he went over and carefully plucked the wires from Eddy's head.  
"We were able to close the void and keep your mind from disappearing by using this machine. I built it on short notice, but it served its purpose and sucked your mind back from another dimension." Edd explained. Eddy was feeling a lot of emotions, but mostly happiness that he was finally woken up from his nightmare.

The three boys left the Peach Creek Institute for Unorthodox Disease and Injury for the first time in half a week. After thanking the doctor (with Edd paying him handsomely when Eddy wasn't looking), Edd and his friends walked towards the cul-de-sac. Nazz, much to Kevin's objection, threw the boys a welcome back party using the party supplies left over from the other kids' "The Ed's Are Gone" party they had a few days earlier. Despite the awkwardness of celebrating the Eds, everyone had a good time at the party. The Eds themselves were just happy they were out of Eddy's horrible nightmare. It was finally over.

Meanwhile, somewhere deep in the woods, stood a boy in a clearing that allowed sunlight to poor in. He was pale and had jet black hair with an overcoat to match. His eyes, white as snow, glistened in the sunlight as it poured upon his expressionless face.  
"_So, this is the real world,_" he contemplated to himself as he stared at the sky. Afterward, the boy known as Painajainen walked off and disappeared into the shadows.

**The End**

* * *

So that's my story. Please review and give me your feedback! I might post a sequel if I get enough positive reviews.


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